2 KLO militants arrested for blast

Siliguri, Jan. 29: Two Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) militants were arrested today for alleged involvement in the Jalpaiguri blast in December in which six persons were killed.

“We have arrested Narayan Roy and Pradip Roy, both KLO central committee members, from Siliguri’s Khoribari block. They had carried out the IED blast in Jalpaiguri,” said Jawed Shamim, the inspector-general (north Bengal), at a news conference in Siliguri this evening.

“We have also arrested Ramshankar Basak, a phuchka seller. He, too, was involved in the blast,” Shamim added.

On December 26, an IED had gone off on a culvert at Bajrapara in Jalpaiguri. The police had said the KLO, which wants a separate Kamtapur state, was behind the blast.

The police said Narayan Roy alias Tarun Thapa was a resident of Rangdhamali in Jalpaiguri Sadar block. Pradip Roy alias Prananarayan Koch is from Mainaguri in Jalpaiguri. Basak, who the police said was a linkman, is from Siliguri’s Bhaktinagar.

“Narayan is the deputy commander-in-chief of the KLO and ranks immediately below Shyam Roy alias Jamai, the commander-in-chief. Pradip is the assistant general secretary,” Shamim said, adding that both had admitted to “executing” the bomb blast.

Senior officers said all three would be produced in court tomorrow. “We will seek police custody,” an officer said.